Saturday, March 22, 2014

Do all the good you can

By all the means you can

In all the ways you can

At all the places you can

To all the people you can

As long as ever you can

-- John Wesley

Horne OK Please?

Can anyone make a spelling mistake when only 3 words are involved? If you think that's a bit too much, take a look:


Summer's upon us already. A glimpse at the noon sky....


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

If you want to know about the internet sites that explain complex subjects in simple language, check this article out - Curiosity didn't kill this cat.
I was neither intimidated by Maths nor was overly fond of the subject while in school. But I think I definitely want to check out these two books by W. W. Sawyer (the links are for free download)

Prelude to Mathematics

Mathematician's Delight

And this one by  E. T. Bell

Men Of Mathematics
There are some ads that make you wince every time they are aired. The new MTS ad is the case in point. I reach for the remote every time it starts. And if I cannot find it in time, I wince every time I watch that computer generated baby cut its own umbilical cord in two. Ouch! Another ad that makes me wonder about the IQ of the person who conceptualized it is of Cadbury 5 Star chocolate. I get the tagline but I find the way the babies' birth is depicted highly offensive. To add insult to injury, the ad has a popping sound every time the baby is born. Really guys, you couldn't think of anything better to convey the message?

Then there are some ads that have a good storyline but when the ad ends you wonder what it had to do with the product or company in question. The new Nestle ad falls in this category. The story of how a boy, who is jealous of the sister adopted by his parents, comes to grow fond of her is truly heart-warming but I simply couldn't connect it to Nestle products.

And then there is the Vodafone M-pesa ad which asks a husband who wants to transfer some money to his mom to relax in a chair, ask his wife for a hot cuppa tea, switch on the TV and then use the service on his phone. I am not saying the ad should have talked about a wife asking her husband to make a cuppa while she transferred money to her mom. I am saying that they would have helped make a small dent in the century-old patriarchal stereotype of a relaxing husband and his slogging wife if they had just left out the part about the tea altogether.

Sometimes that task seems just too hopeless!

NOTA or Not To NOTA???

I got my Voter ID card in the mail (read POST!) today. Funny thing is I didn't know that I will be getting a new voter card. After all, I had gone to the voter registration center just to add my photo to the voter list. The old card does have my photo. Must say this system is quicker than the Aadhar one. I can be cynical and say that the government knows how to move fast when its own interests are at stake but I will let it pass.

The important question now is who to vote for. I never considered Aam Aadmi Party seriously - not since I saw them wearing the 'I am a common man' white caps for the first time and especially not since they came to power and then found some excuse to run away in Delhi. There is nothing wrong in trying to break the old inefficient way of doing things - as long as you have a very concrete plan about what the new system should be. And the AAP does not seem to be having any clue about it whatsoever. Emotions are okay in Hindi movies, the real life is a very different ball-game altogether because lives of billions of people are at stake. Arvind Kejriwal would do well to remember that the next time he plans to pull off another stunt.

That leaves the Congress and the BJP - that's probably worse than being caught between the devil and the deep sea. There is no doubt that Congress hasn't done much good during its 10 year reign. The last few years have been marked with a very nasty policy paralysis - something that the country can ill afford. BJP is making so much noise about Congress' corrupt regime but frankly, it sounds like a case of sore grapes. I am sure that if they come to power they will waste no time in walking down the same path. On the other hand, I think Congress needs to be shown that the power isn't theirs for the asking. But, I have never felt comfortable with Modi - India has been declared a secular country and his brand of politics is more suited for a Hindu nation. I firmly believe that communal harmony is at best a mirage but we definitely don't want to create any reasons for communal hatred to rear its ugly head - given especially that in this country it is always but one incident away. And frankly, I find the new Modi campaign ads being currently aired on FM channels - about inflation and corruption leaving the country because Modi is coming to power - absolutely banal. Even Superman, should he choose to make an appearance on earth in India, would not be able to achieve this superhuman feat. Can we be realistic here please?

Of course one can say that we should cast our vote by looking at the candidate, not the party. An independent not affiliated with any mainstream party might as well fit the bill. However, there is a strong chance that such a candidate will become part of such a party post election. From there it will be a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them'.

Mr. Anna Hazare says that people should go for NOTA (None Of The Above) if they don't think any candidate is worthy of their vote. That's sound advice. But the fact, however unpalatable, is that we don't need an inconclusive election. Coalition government is a nightmare we all can do without. Whatever party ends up in power has to have a clear mandate. I just hope it is not AAP.

So, the question remains - who to vote for. And like many questions plaguing the world's largest democracy, this one doesn't have a simple answer.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Political Economy Of Growth by Paul Baran

Monopoly Capital by Paul Sweezy

The Pillage Of The Third World by Pierre Jalee

Labor And Monopoly Capital by Harry Braverman 
The book I am currently reading is a treasure trove of references for good reading:

A Source Book in Indian Philosophy by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Editor), Charles A. Moore

The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen

The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant

The Case for India by Will Durant